Having previously been the super-middleweight bogeyman, David Benavidez has found himself a wanted man since announcing himself at cruiserweight.
After holding belts at 168 and 175lbs, Benavidez made an ambitious leap up to the cruiserweight division last month, where he delivered one of the performances of the year and dispatched of unified WBA and WBO world champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez inside six rounds.
It now appears that Benavidez will remain at cruiserweight rather than return to the light-heavyweight scene, at least for his next fight.
Despite calls for him to face Jai Opetaia, the 29-year-old looks set to first prioritise a charge towards the undisputed throne, with a clash against WBC world champion Noel Mikaelian close to being finalised. Should he win there, there are more fights in the division, including Opetaia, worth a mention.
After witnessing Benavidez’s cruiserweight debut, former WBO world champion Chris Billam-Smith – who lost his belt to Ramirez in 2024 – has thrown his name into the mix, telling Inside The Ring that a scrap with ‘The Mexican Monster’ could prove to be a ‘fire fight’.
“Of course, you are always thinking how you go about beating those sorts of guys. I said before that [Zurdo] fight, I said, ‘if he does win, me against him is an absolute fire fight and a very fan-friendly fight’.
“He is a fantastic fighter, obviously he has come up through the weights and put on a great performance there.”
With Benavidez-Mikaelian appearing to be next, Opetaia is likely to seek an in-house defence of his Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight title – with Billam-Smith being the standout candidate for the away corner.
With that route in mind, ‘The Gentleman’ said that he sees a showdown with Benavidez as a more difficult test than a dust-up with his promotional stablemate.
“Benavidez would be harder to beat [than Opetaia], stylistically for me.”
Benavidez-Mikaelian is reportedly being planned for November, whilst Viddal Riley is anticipated to headline a Misfits Pro card in August, before challenging for the remaining vacant IBF cruiserweight title in the fight that follows.
